The director of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has another big sci-fi adaptation on his plate, and he is not holding back about how it got there. In a new interview with IGN, Francis Lawrence opened up about Red Rising, revealing that Netflix spent years sitting on the project before the rights went back to author Pierce Brown.
The adaptation now lives at Paramount, which acquired film rights to Brown's bestselling series earlier this month and attached Lawrence to direct a movie based on the first book. Justin Rhodes (Terminator: Dark Fate) is writing the screenplay, with Lawrence and Cameron MacConomy producing alongside Francesco Goedhuis and Brown executive producing.
What Went Wrong at Netflix
Lawrence has been attached to Red Rising for roughly eight years. He told IGN that the plan at Netflix was originally a TV series, and that the scripts were there. The studio's internal reshuffling was the problem.
"We had two amazing pilots written, but regimes kept changing and they kept creating these departments of 'tentpole, now it's YA, back to tentpole again,'" Lawrence said. "It was getting bounced around, and it's not a cheap [project] to make and to do it right. They never got the guts to pull the trigger on it. And so, the rights reverted back to Pierce."
It is a blunt assessment from a filmmaker who is still working with Netflix. Lawrence is also directing the streamer's BioShock movie, which he discussed in the same interview.
Built for IMAX
Losing the series turned out to be a blessing in Lawrence's eyes. When Brown took the property to Paramount, the format changed from streaming series to theatrical feature, and Lawrence says that is the version he wanted all along.
"I actually prefer the theatrical approach for Red Rising rather than streaming, because I think it's a series that's definitely deserving of a theatrical experience and IMAX and the whole thing," he said.
The project also appears to be moving at a decent clip. "We have a writer that we like, who is now starting work on a script, and hopefully that's something that we will put together quite quickly," Lawrence added. "It seems to be a priority at Paramount, which is great. Super, super, super excited about that."
What Red Rising Is About
For moviegoers unfamiliar with the books, Red Rising follows Darrow, a Red miner on Mars who learns that his people have been enslaved by the ruling Golds. Remade so that he can pass as one of them, he infiltrates Gold society as part of a rebellion against the color-based hierarchy that rules his world.
It is a story with a lot of moving parts, which is why plenty of readers hoped for a long-running show. Lawrence's track record suggests he can handle a franchise, though. He has directed five Hunger Games movies, and Sunrise on the Reaping opens in theaters on November 20. He is also coming off Lionsgate's The Long Walk, his take on the Stephen King novel.
Paramount's sci-fi plans extend beyond Red Rising, too. The studio has also been talking to writers about the future of Star Trek. With Dune: Part Three also gearing up for release at Warner Bros., the appetite for big-screen space epics does not seem to be going anywhere.
No cast, filming schedule or release date has been announced for Red Rising yet, so the next big milestone will likely be a finished script from Rhodes.
Do you think Francis Lawrence is the right director to bring Red Rising to the big screen?
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